Open AccessA Community Pharmacist’s Guide to Oral COVID-19 Antivirals
Author(s) -
Tyler C. Melton,
Brandon Hawkins
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
innovations in pharmacy
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2155-0417
DOI - 10.24926/iip.v13i3.4961
Subject(s) - operationalization , covid-19 , pharmacy , community pharmacy , medicine , pharmacist , medication therapy management , community practice , family medicine , community acquired pneumonia , pneumonia , philosophy , disease , epistemology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The recent approval of novel, oral antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19 has significantly altered the outpatient management of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. From a community pharmacy perspective, the two treatment options for mild to moderate COVID-19 are Paxlovid™ (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) and Lagevrio™ (molnupiravir). While the availability of these antivirals has expanded community pharmacists' capability to provide care for patients diagnosed with COVID-19, many community pharmacists may struggle to effectively operationalize these agents in practice. This commentary provides a review of Paxlovid™ and Lagevrio™ clarifying the differences between each medication and their respective places in therapy, as well as suggestions and best-practices to operationalize the provision of these services in community pharmacies. These considerations are necessary to support and inform community pharmacy practice when providing oral COVID-19 antiviral therapy.